Dr. Saba

Chief of Child Development and Nutrition Section at UNICEF, India

Dr. Saba Mebrahtu is the Chief of Child Development and Nutrition Section at UNICEF in India. She has over 15 years of professional work experience with UNICEF in the field of Nutrition. She joined the UNICEF India Country Office in November 2014, and prior to that she worked as the Chief of the Nutrition Section with UNICEF in Nepal over a four year period.

Every baby in the womb eats what its mother does, or more accurately derives its essential nutrients from her. Thus, even mild maternal malnutrition can impair fetal development. The consequences are serious, profound, last a lifetime and yet happen silently. In India a large number of women are undernourished when they conceive; the situation gets worse as the pregnancy progresses. Studies show that malnourished women are more likely bear malnourished children who either die early or grow into sickly adolescents and adults.

Adolescence is a critical period of growth and development and offers us an important entry point for delivering essential nutrition services to disrupt the inter-generational cycle of undernutrition. An adolescent girl who is well nourished is more likely to perform well in school and be more empowered as an adult woman than her poorly nourished counterpart...